Hi, just found another local pellet stove place...my fifth one I've visited. I had it narrowed down to st. croix or avalon. However this company has been in business for 31 years and they will be there another 31 (son installs pellet stoves).

They carry quadrafire. Now the quadrafire carry aluminum heat exchangers. Is cast iron or stainless steel better and if so how important is this to the longevity of the system. My father in law tells me the stainless is better but now I'm so confused I'm not sure if he was talking about the heat exchangers or another part that should be stainless steal or cast iron.

After all said and done we would save about $4 -500 if I went with the quadrafire. I live in poughkeepsie ny.

Your father in law would be talking about the exchangers. All three are good stoves. I didn't care for the cast iron loop igniters that quad has, they had a high failure rate. I've been told they've been fixed since then. I own a Lopi which is made by the same co. as Avalon. In fact the stoves internal components are identical. aside from firebacks. The Avalon warranty is a great warranty. I don't have alot of experience with St. Croix other than cleaning a few of them but they did seem to be well made.